Nelson-Loupee

A former Marshalltown High School (MHS) business teacher who stole over $43,000 from the Marshalltown Education Association (MEA) while serving as the organization’s treasurer received a suspended 10-year prison sentence, probation and a fine during a hearing held at the Marshall County Courthouse on Monday afternoon.

Rachel Nelson-Loupee, 49, sat in the courtroom alongside her attorney, Van Plumb, while Assistant Marshall County Attorney Kiyoko Kieffer represented the state and Judge Ashley Sparks presided over the proceedings. Nelson-Loupee had already agreed to plead guilty to a single count of first degree theft, a Class C felony, and the main point of contention between the prosecution and the defense was whether or not she should receive a deferred judgment.

Kieffer spoke first, noting that Nelson-Loupee’s actions spanned a period of over seven years from 2017 to 2024.

“The defendant made the choice over and over again to violate the trust of her peers and steal their hard-earned money,” she said. “The state understands that teachers are undervalued and underpaid, but the truth of the matter is that nobody is entitled to steal from others.”

Considering the desire to protect the community and Nelson-Loupee’s status as a public figure, Kieffer recommended a conviction — not a deferred judgment — as a means of deterring any future criminal action.

“I wonder if the defendant knows the impact on the victim, her peers and to the wider community. At one point, she was a role model. We, as members of the community, trust people like the defendant to care for our kids and teach them lessons,” Kieffer said. “Teachers teach about what it means to have good character, but I question, does she know? Good character certainly does not mean that you choose to steal day after day out of boredom or loneliness.”

The state recommended a prison sentence not to exceed 10 years suspended in its entirety, a $1,370 fine with a 15 percent surcharge (Kieffer initially said this would be suspended as well, but Sparks later clarified that it would not be), an agreed upon period of probation and a DNA requirement. The state withdrew its restitution request because the union did have insurance at the time and received reimbursement for the remaining outstanding amount after Nelson-Loupee initially paid back over $16,500 upon turning herself in for the crime.

Plumb spoke next, listing his client’s background and bona fides before explaining that some deaths in Nelson-Loupee’s family sent her down a path of compulsive shopping and taking “small amounts” of money from the MEA to cover the costs. The attorney said that while he didn’t initially understand it, he eventually recognized her compulsion as a disease resulting from depression and not unlike his own bout with alcoholism.

“I understand what it means to not want to admit you have a mental health problem. It makes you feel weak. It makes you think people are gonna think bad of you,” Plumb said. “I understand what it means to want to go out and get drunk and forget reality. That’s the same thing Ms. Nelson-Loupee was doing. The shopping let her forget her reality and escape.”

By 2024, the stress and shame of what she had been doing became too much, according to Plumb, and she admitted her wrongdoing to her husband and MEA leadership, initially paying back over $16,500. Her attorney applauded her for coming forward and encouraged her to own her mistakes and learn from them.

Nelson-Loupee immediately found a counselor and worked jobs as a waitress, server and cook to reintegrate herself in the community and is now substitute teaching.

“What’s gonna help her in her recovery more than anything other than owning what she did and teaching people is getting back into the workforce in an area that she’s comfortable in that makes her happy, and that is going to be served by getting a deferred judgment,” Plumb said, mentioning that several prospective teaching jobs have fallen through because of the situation. “A deferred judgment’s gonna allow her to get back into the teaching area after she serves her probation time. That is gonna help in her recovery.”

Plumb felt the emphasis should be placed on rehabilitation over punishment and concluded by referencing Nelson-Loupee’s non-existent criminal history other than the current case. The defendant herself then offered brief remarks, apologizing to the representatives of the MEA for violating their trust and calling her actions “unacceptable.”

The lone victim impact statement came from Alex Klyn, who spoke on behalf of the MEA and indicated that he had served in a leadership role alongside Nelson-Loupee. He recounted discovering discrepancies in the organization’s financial records during audit services before Nelson-Loupee came forward to admit the theft of $10,000 to Klyn and two other union leaders, Paula Johnson and Anita Ringgenberg. As they dug deeper, however, they realized that the actual amount misappropriated was $43,331.

“The receipts, debit card and cash withdrawals show that it wasn’t just a financial loss to our union. Rachel profoundly betrayed the trust our members had placed in us,” Klyn said. “When we found out this information on Oct. 16, 2024, after feeling shocked, we began to feel extremely guilty… Eventually, we came to realize that we should not feel guilty. We weren’t the ones who stole $43,331 from a group of teachers. We aren’t the ones who lied for years about the balance in our union’s bank account. We aren’t the ones who went on shopping sprees to Starbucks, Target, Ulta and countless other places using money that did not belong to us. Rachel Nelson-Loupee did that.”

Klyn, who now serves as the MEA treasurer, went on to note that the theft affected around 200 Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) teachers and eroded trust in the union, even referencing the suspension of retirement celebrations for outgoing educators as a result of “insufficient funds.” He also described the “uproar” and “misrepresentations” of the situation on social media when the news first broke publicly, which he felt had exacerbated the distrust among union members.

He concluded by recounting the facts of the case and said the insurance claim did not eliminate all of the loss and harm caused by Nelson-Loupee’s actions.

“Insurance also fails to absolve Rachel of responsibility. It simply transfers the financial impact to another party. Restitution would be a way to restore accountability and reinforce that abuse of a fiduciary position carries real consequences,” Klyn said. “This situation has not only caused financial harm but also emotional strain as we question systems and people we once relied on with 100 percent confidence. Rebuilding that trust will take time. In the absence of restitution, the leaders and members of the Marshalltown Education Association would ask your honor to please consider the real and lasting impact the loss of $43,000 has had on our educators and that the consequences for Rachel Nelson-Loupee appropriately reflect this impact. Without proper accountability, how will this conduct be prevented in the future?”

Sparks ultimately declined to grant Nelson-Loupee a deferred judgment, telling those gathered in the courtroom that she was concerned by the nature of the crime and its impact on the community at large. She added that she even struggled to go along with the terms of the plea agreement and considered imposing actual prison time.

“The court is going to place you on probation, but I will not do a deferred judgment,” she said.

Nelson-Loupee received a suspended sentence not to exceed 10 years with credit for any time served, a five-year probation term and a $1,370 fine with a 15 percent surcharge due within 30 days.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.